TY - JOUR
T1 - Do the spatial features of an adjunct display that readers complete while reading affect their understanding of a complex system?
AU - McCrudden, Matthew T.
AU - McCormick, Montana K.
AU - McTigue, Erin M.
PY - 2011/2
Y1 - 2011/2
N2 - We varied the spatial features of adjunct displays that depicted a complex scientific system (i. e. human circulatory system). University students (n = 47), who were assigned randomly to a display condition before reading, selected relevant information from the text and wrote it (a) next to a list of definitions (list condition), (b) inside boxes organized to coincide with the sequence of blood flow (chart condition), or (c) on a picture of the heart (pictorial condition). Students in the chart and pictorial conditions had higher scores on 2 learning tests. Results supported the nonequivalence hypothesis, which states that a spatial display can promote learning more effectively than a list because a display's nonverbal (e. g. spatial) features explicitly depict relationships among a system's components. The results have implications for science educators.
AB - We varied the spatial features of adjunct displays that depicted a complex scientific system (i. e. human circulatory system). University students (n = 47), who were assigned randomly to a display condition before reading, selected relevant information from the text and wrote it (a) next to a list of definitions (list condition), (b) inside boxes organized to coincide with the sequence of blood flow (chart condition), or (c) on a picture of the heart (pictorial condition). Students in the chart and pictorial conditions had higher scores on 2 learning tests. Results supported the nonequivalence hypothesis, which states that a spatial display can promote learning more effectively than a list because a display's nonverbal (e. g. spatial) features explicitly depict relationships among a system's components. The results have implications for science educators.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10763-010-9236-1
DO - 10.1007/s10763-010-9236-1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78649908657
SN - 1571-0068
VL - 9
SP - 163
EP - 185
JO - International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
JF - International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
IS - 1
ER -